The only public course in Cape Girardeau, Mo.—constructed as a nine-hole layout by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees in 1955, and then expanded to 18 holes in 1974 before it was donated to the city of Cape Girardeau—will get its first major facelift.

According to an article in the Southeast Missourian, the 130-acre layout will undergo a transformation that will enlarge and change its greens to bentgrass and add a high-tech irrigation system. While those are the two major objectives of the renovation, other changes are in the plans, which include rerouting five holes on the back and adding sand bunkers.

The $1.5 million project, which will shut the course down for about 10 months, is being funded by a three-eighth-cent sales tax approved by voters last April. The renovation, one of several projects funded by the tax, officially will begin June 10, with completion targeted for May 2010.